
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 13, 1991                   TAG: 9104130285
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GE, TOSHIBA VENTURE AIMED AT JAPANESE

Banking on changing consumer lifestyles, Toshiba Corp. and General Electric announced Friday a major alliance to sell refrigerators and other appliances to the Japanese in what is believed to be the first significant attempt to market American consumer appliances in Japan.

Should the alliance succeed, it could help restore the luster of the American consumer brand image, which generally suffers from a reputation for poor quality and even worse after-sales service in Japan.

"So many Japanese know that American car quality is not as good as Japanese, so if you try to sell a car it's really difficult," said Ted Kadoya, spokesman for Toshiba America Inc. "But for large-scale refrigerators, washers and dishwashers, we Japanese have no product. So there is no competition and no prejudice."

The venture aims to capitalize on the changing Japanese woman's lifestyle. The majority of Japanese women now work outside the home, fueling demand for time-saving appliances.

The larger American products, once rejected as impractical for the Japanese market, are now in growing demand because they eliminate the need to shop and wash everyday, Kadoya said.

Last year, he said, demand for large refrigerators topped 1 million units, compared to 100,000 just four years earlier.

That niche was the fastest-growing segment of the Japanese appliance market.

by CNB